I actually wrote it all at once ages ago as a story idea but the second part...
Well, let’s call it “dark crack.” It’s ridiculous and I cop to that. It’s fine. You’ve been warned. There will be no more of this.
Cut because LONG.
Narrative heavy.
Thank you @thefightingbull for encouraging me to post it originally and @atasteforsuicidal for the prompt that made me post it anyway.
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“Why do you talk about akhi like that?” Damian demanded, fed up with the talk around him. “Surely you understand why he did those things! Why he acted like that! You know he’s better!”
“Damian it’s a bit more complicated than that. We can’t just forgive the fact that he tried to kill Tim.” Dick ran a hand over his face and added, “Or Bruce.”
“He didn’t try to kill either of them. If he wanted them dead they would be dead. Jason doesn’t play with his food.” The boy stated drolly before becoming serious again. “He obviously fought very hard against the Madness, I don’t understand how you can be so condemning. You should value his strength instead of — of...”
He trailed off, unable to find the right words.
Dick started to bite back but Bruce shook his head and looked to the boy.
“What do you mean, Damian?”
“The Madness. Jason obviously fought very hard against it.”
“I was under the impression that Jason was only in the Pit once and that usually doesn't cause Madness that severely.” The man stated slowly.
“Did he tell you that or did you assume?” Damian bit out.
At Bruce’s silence Damian sighed.
“Jason was one of grandfather’s favorite experiments. He was in the Pit more times than anyone should ever be, especially towards the end. Grandfather would have him killed then thrown into the Pit before he healed himself. He wanted to study the effects of Jason’s ability.”
“What?!” Bruce wheezed, horror clear in his voice.
Dick wasn’t much better; his face had paled at what his newest brother had revealed.
Damian shuddered, “All it did was give Jason one of the most severe cases of Pit Madness we’ve seen as the waters built up in his system. Were his eyes blue when he came back to you or the acid green of Lazarus?”
“They were green.” Tim told him. “They nearly glowed.”
“Jason was able to fight that in order to keep himself from killing you.” Damian stated.
Dick shook off his shock, “Is that why you checked his eyes when you saw him the other day?”
“Yes.” Damian nodded. “I wanted to see how much had drained. They’re nearly all back to blue again.”
“How do you drain Pit Madness?” Tim asked.
“Normally, you don’t.” Damian said, honestly. “Normally, you have to ride it out until you get it under control or until it fades naturally. But Jason’s an exception. His abilities mean that he can sever the connection to the Pit and it will fade that much faster.”
“Sever the connection? How?”
“When he dies, of course.” Damian looked confused.
“Lazarus wraps around life force. When he dies, it severs the connection. When he comes back it cannot hold on as tightly so it drains more quickly. The more he dies, the quicker it drains.”
“I feel like I’m walking into a conversation with half the information.” Dick said, tiredly.
“Do you not… know any of this?” Damian asked, aghast.
“No, Damian. This is all new information.” Bruce stated, pained.
The boy looked unsure. “Perhaps I should not… Well, no, Jason said I should trust you.”
“Jason told you to trust us?” Tim said, surprised.
Damian nodded, “He used the form of the word to mean the highest levels of trust. Indicating that I can be wholly myself among you and do not need to fear attack and can share any and all secrets. If he didn’t want me to share this — if he didn’t want me to talk about this — he wouldn’t have used that word.”
Suddenly, amusement flashed across his face, “Or he forgot which word meant what... in which case this is his own fault and he can suffer the consequences.”
Damian looked up, “While we don’t know the origin of the ability my grandfather’s scientists were able to discover that Jason doesn’t die permanently. When he woke up in his coffin—”
He stopped as horrified gasps came from the other three. “He didn’t tell you.”
“No. We assumed the Pit.”
“Of course.” Damian stated flatly before sighing ad continuing.
“When he woke up in his coffin that was the awakening of whatever power he has. I don’t know the story of how he came to be with us, you’ll have to ask Mother or Jason, but I do remember that he was practically catatonic when I first met him. He could eat, perform basic functions, and defend himself.”
“His mind was slowly healing but not enough for my grandfather. Ra’s was going to have him executed. Well, Mother said he was going to have him sent away and cared for but we believe he was going to have Jason executed. Mother smuggled him into the Pit to revive his mind. It worked and we ran from Grandfather’s reprisal.”
“We hid in France. Mother was training Jason and Jason was helping to train me in some of the techniques you taught him. One day there was an accident. I don’t know the particulars, I wasn’t there. Jason died. He was prepared for burial. It was four days while arrangements were made.”
Damian looked at Bruce. “Then he came back. Scared the hell out of everyone in the compound when he just walked into the courtyard and asked why he was in the crypt.”
“I’ve never seen Mother so pale in my life.” Damian admitted.
“It wasn’t long until we received a summons from Grandfather. Obviously, we had a traitor. Jason’s ability was tested.”
“It was… horrific. We did everything we could to prevent it but…”
“Ra’s does what he wants.” Bruce stated, “Nothing he does is your fault Damian.”
The boy shook his head, “The next time he died, it only took a day for him to revive. The next time, 12 hours. As far as I know, it’s never gotten any lower than that. He started healing more quickly — about twice what’s normal.”
“Grandfather had Jason trained for a couple of years. I… I think Grandfather had something over Mother and Jason. I don’t know what and they wouldn’t tell me but they wouldn’t leave. Said they couldn’t. But then Jason was assigned a target he refused.”
Damian huffed, “I don’t know what or why for that either. Grandfather was furious and he was already showing signs of losing his mind. He had Jason executed then thrown into the Pit. When he came out, Jason was… different. Harsher, easier for Grandfather to control. Grandfather noticed the difference and began a series of experiments on Jason. Killing him, reviving him. Effects of Pit water. It was horrific.”
Damian shuddered.
“It was determined that whatever ability Jason has allowed the Pit to take a harder hold on him if the Pit is used to revive him. He’s twice as susceptible to the Madness. If he dies and revives on his own it drains naturally. Or as naturally as one could say... He has more control over himself.”
“How many—” Dick swallowed, “How many times has he died?”
Damian shook his head, “I don’t know. I would guess Grandfather had him killed at least ten times to test the Pit. He’s died at least once since coming back to Gotham.”
“He told you that?” Tim asked.
“When I was looking at the color of his eyes I asked.” Damian stated. “The Madness could not have drained so quickly without at least one revival. He showed me a scar on his neck that started the drain.”
“That killed him?” Bruce looked pale.
“Yes.” Damian said, matter-of-factly.
The noise that came from Bruce’s throat was barely human.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Summary: Jason learns that he has four younger siblings who are all orphan's like him. When he agrees to take them in he has no idea he's about to learn things about himself and his family he would never have dreamed of.
tags: half vietnamese jason Half-Siblings mixed race jason todd jason learns he has younger half siblings on both sides of his family meta jason todd
First chapter of my latest fic (I’m still writing Raising Robins and I may pick Something New back up)
